Community Response and Engagement Unit – CREU

The Community Response and Engagement Unit or “CREU” is comprised of the Dover Housing Authority Liaison Officer, the Problem Oriented Police Officers, the Downtown Liaison Officer, the Dover High School Resource Officer, the Dover Middle School Resource Officers and the Police Social Worker. There is a Sergeant assigned to oversee the unit.

Each of the positions within the CREU allows for officers to interact with the community in a more proactive manner than that of the normal patrol officer responding to calls for service. These positions allow for officers to focus more on education of the community in working toward the prevention of crimes or becoming a victim of a crime.

• Dover Housing Liaison Officer: Assigned to handle calls for service as well as education and interaction with residents of all Dover Housing Authority properties, as well as Whittier Falls.
• Dover Downtown Liaison Officer: Tasked with implementing community policing initiatives, aggressive preventative patrols, and conduct investigations into incidents that occur in the downtown area. The officer patrols on bicycle, in a cruiser, and on foot. The officer works to develop citizen and merchant support, while creating a collaborative environment to ensure that all of the stakeholders play a role in developing and maintaining a healthy and safe environment and improving the quality of life for residents in the downtown area.
• Problem Oriented Police Officer: This is a grant funded position in which the department can assign the officer to focus on areas of the city in which there are in increase in criminal activity or other quality of life type issues.  One example may be locations in the city which experience a sudden increase in graffiti. The officer would work with business owners on prevention methods while also working to apprehend potential suspects.
• School Resource Officers: The Dover Police Department has a police officer in both the Dover High School and the Dover Middle School.  These officers are assigned to the school full time during normal hours of operation, and are there for a measure of increased safety as well as to act as a police department liaison for students and staff.
• Social Worker: Dover native Kaitlin Jones, who has a master's degree in social work, was hired as the department’s police social worker in 2022. Her focus will be to work as a liaison with various social service agencies and clinical providers with the goal of providing more direct follow-up referrals for individuals and families, not responding directly to police calls. Examples of police interactions that may involve follow-up and referrals include: domestic disturbances, drug overdoses, suicide attempts, death investigations, and mental health related calls. The goal is to provide referral assistance to individuals and families when they are no longer experiencing a crisis in order to reduce the number and frequency of those crises. This will also reduce need for public safety intervention.

Focus on Mental Health and Wellness

In recent years, Dover has experienced a significant rise in demand for mental health crisis services. In response, the City of Dover and the Dover Mental Health Alliance (DMHA) have taken several measures to help respond to the community's mental health needs.

One measure was the formation of an ad hoc subcommittee tasked with developing a set of recommendations that reflect trends, obstacles, opportunities, and best practices to follow for responses by City of Dover staff to mental health-related calls for service and needs.

The committee was comprised of members of the Dover Police, Fire and School departments, Wentworth-Douglass and Portsmouth Regional hospitals, Community Partners, and Dover Mental Health Alliance, led by the members of the Center for Ethics in Society at Saint Anselm College.

The subcommittee identified five significant barriers to improved mental health crisis services in Dover: continued social stigma and prejudice surrounding mental illness, a lack of tracking and data in critical areas, inadequate communication and coordination between and among mental health care providers and social service agencies, inadequate staffing and support in organizations providing support services, and the absence of a dedicated facility providing round-the-clock mental health crisis services.

Read the subcommittee's final report:

• Dover's Mental Health Crisis Services Strategic Plan – Nov. 30, 2022

Virtual Neighborhood Watch

The Virtual Neighborhood Watch initiative allows residents and businesses to register their security cameras with the Dover Police Department.

For more information or to register your camera, visit our sign-up page here:

Virtual Neighborhood Watch

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